Pressure sensitive adhesives have revolutionized the labeling industry; now it is an easy matter to print custom labels—as with a laser or inkjet printer—and apply the printed label to a container. This has been particularly useful in labeling bottles that hold prescription medicines. In the past it was necessary to type or handwrite a prescription label and apply it to a container with glue or cellophane tape. Now a label printer prints the information on a pressure sensitive label which is then applied to plastic container. Depending on the scale of the pharmacy operation the labels are printed on strips and manually applied to the containers or where large numbers of prescriptions are being filled, a machine automatically applies the printed label to the containers. Modern pharmacy labels contain not only the patient's name and prescription information (e.g. prescription number, name of prescribing physician, name of drug and instructions for use) but often also contain a bar code or other machine-readable code for use in automated inventory control and quality control.
The problem is that the label provides a virtual treasure trove of personal confidential information. When the pharmacy produces excess labeled containers or when the patients return empty prescription bottles, the pharmacy must destroy the labeled containers to preserve patient confidentiality. As a result many pharmacies maintain bins of used containers with those containing personal information segregated from “safe” containers having no such confidential information. The result is that the pharmacy must carefully guard the containers bearing personal information until they are removed by a recycling service. Because the service is expected to preserve the confidentiality of the information, the entire process resembles the collection of money by armed guards with an armored truck. Needless to say, the service is not inexpensive. In addition, there are a number of Federal laws (such as The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 [HIPAA]) that levy significant penalties for violating patient confidentiality.
Therefore, there is considerable need for a method/device that allows the pharmacy to remove personal information from containers readily so that normal, low cost recycling services can be used. One possibility would be for the pharmacy to simply crush or shred the labeled containers to render the labels unreadable. However, this requires expensive and unusual shredding equipment and the resulting crushed or shredded plastic contains label fragments which render the plastic less desirable for recycling. A simple method is needed for removing pressure sensitive labels from prescription containers. After removal, the labels can be shredded by conventional paper shredders. At the very least, a method is needed to render the labels unreadable.
It is known to strip the labels from the containers by hand. However, unless only a small number of bottles are to be treated, hand stripping of labels is tedious at best. It is often difficult to peel off enough of the label to allow one to strip off the rest of the label. Often the label will tear during removal, thus leaving strips of label that are difficult to remove. One can use a razor blade or knife edge to aid in the stripping process, but a slip may well lead to a painful and messy cut.
It is also known to treat the label with some sort of solvent—organic or water-based—to loosen the adhesive after which the label can be more readily removed. However, even “non-toxic” solvents can be irritating or inflammable. Volatile organic compounds (VOC) regulations in many states and regions regulate or prohibit use of many solvents suitable for label removal. Water-based solvents usually contain VOCs or organic surfactants that pose disposal problems—not to mention the cost of the solvents themselves. In any case, solvent based systems add complexity and cost.